Lost & Found
by A Mad Youkai Tea Party
Summary: Kagome had found her soulmate, only to lose him the same day. Inuyasha had run from his soulmate, to scared to tell her his name. Both regret how that day turned out but it seems like there is no hope for them finding each other...
1. Chapter 1

_It was a dark moonless night, at a time where you usually wouldn't expect to see a young girl of ten sitting alone on a park bench. The girl in question was waiting for her mother to finish with her shopping across the road. Kagome looked at the collection of beads that rested in her hand. Mostly round beads with some magatama beads, stringed together to form a nenju. It wasn't half bad in her opinion, even though some of the round beads weren't exactly the same size as the others, she still liked it. According to her grandfather, it was meant to bring the wearer good luck and protection. Kagome hadn't worn it yet, and didn't really plan to, but it was a birthday present._

_As she waited, she noticed a small figure running through the park. It was a boy with a bright red hoodie, and Kagome was confused as to what he could be doing until he fell over. There wasn't much to do exactly, so she decided to run over and see if he needed help. Kagome smiled as she ran over and offered her hand to the boy to take. He was human, with short black hair and dark eyes. The main thing that caught Kagome's attention was the dried blood that came from his injured lip. When he looked up, he glared at her outstretched hand._

_"Are you alright?"_

_The boy ignored her hand as he got up, "Go away!"_

_"What are you doing? Was someone chasing you?" Kagome asked._

_"You're really nosy" he replied._

_Kagome frowned, "I was just trying to help you. You don't have to be rude."_

_"I don't need anyone's help!"_

_"Then why are you crying?"_

_The boy stepped back and raised a hand to his face, as if Kagome had just lied to him. The realization that he was crying only made the tears fall a lot harder. Kagome tried to give him a kind smile in hopes that it would lift his spirits. The boy looked down at his feet after that, pulling the hood over his head. For some reason, Kagome got the image of a sad puppy in her head, and she reached into her pocket were she knew some candy her mother had given her was. Some strawberry pocky. He might like that. She held it in front of her so he could see it. It did catch his attention._

_"Want some?"_

_Hesitantly, he reached out and carefully took one, as if he thought Kagome would try to take it away any second._

_Kagome smiled, "Do you want to sit with me? I'm waiting for my mom. It's really boring."_

_"Sure."_

_They walked back over to were Kagome had been originally, while sharing the candy between the two of them. Kagome kept trying to talk to him, but the boy didn't really seem too keen on answering her questions. She didn't really mind though, he obviously had a bad day. Then Kagome got an idea, and turned to boy in excitement. Kagome grabbed the nenju._

_"Do you want this?" Kagome asked, "It's meant to bring you luck. Or protect you from harm."_

_"Are you saying I need protecting?" he retorted._

_Kagome shrugged, "I'm hoping it'll bring you luck. I just think that no one should be alone when they're sad_— so maybe this will stop you from getting sad_."_

_Kagome placed the necklace in his hands, and the boy rolled his eyes at the gesture but didn't reject the gift. Kagome grinned as he started to walk ahead of her and practically skipped to catch up with him. That wasn't a smart idea, as she lost her footing. She reached out and grabbed the boy's upper arm before she managed to properly fall. The boy grunted, before he turned to glare at her._

_"Clumsy."_

_"Am not!"_

_"Yeah you—" he went pale, "Your hand..."_

_Kagome blinked before she looked at her hand. Where there was once just a black mark all over her palm, the was now a swirl of gray and dark blue, and Kagome knew there would be something similar on his arm where she grabbed him. She looked up at him, but the boy only looked at her in horror. Kagome felt a sinking feeling in her gut, as he slowly backed away before turning and bolting down the street. Kagome tried to follow, but unfortunately her feet betrayed her and she ended up falling — this time, without anyone to catch her._

* * *

There was a knocking sound on Kagome's bedroom door, pulling her out of her slumber. Kagome groaned, before looking at her hand like she usually did when she woke up. Yellow, the specific shade that corollated with happiness or amusement. That was odd, usually her soulmate was so grumpy in the morning. A quick look at the clock proved why — he would have been up for hours now. The knocking repeated once again, and Kagome dragged herself out of bed before making her way over to he door. Since when did her family knock?

"Yo, Kagome."

"Kouga?" she blinked, "What are you doing here? How did you get in here?"

"Your mother let me in. Besides, you invited me. You wanted me to drop you off at the café where you're meeting Sango, since your mother is out shopping, remember?" Kouga replied.

Kagome sighed, "On Friday. You were meant to come on Friday."

"It is Friday."

"No it's not. It's Thursday."

Kouga pulled out his phone and showed it to her, "Are ya sure about that?"

"No. No, no, no. No" Kagome screeched, "I'm so late!"

Kagome instantly rushed around the room working out her outfit. She picked out a simple dress, a cardigan, and gloves, before she rushed out to go have a quick shower. Kouga had apparently expected that, as he dropped a towel into her arms as she rushed out of her room, allowing her to go the bathroom quickly without wasting anymore time.

Kouga was someone Kagome considered family with how close he was to her. They had met each other when they were young, since the grounds of her family's shrine were quieter and cleaner than most of the city — from a youkai's perspective — so his pack hadn't minded the idea of him and a few others visiting. A little cocky, very competitive, but he had a huge heart. Not to mention that he understood what it was like to lose his soulmate. She remembered the incident all too well, when Kouga's mark suddenly turned pale. It looked like a scar in the shape of a handprint on his arm. He never met his soulmate, but he knew the exact time his soulmate had died.

They had both gotten pretty close from comforting each other, actually. When Kouga's soulmate died, she remembered him being quiet for a while, and sticking really close to his family, not visiting that often. Then one day, he showed up, and she remembered holding him as they watched old movies until they fell asleep. When Kagome found her soulmate, he returned the favor when she panicked. When she was crying about whatever was wrong with her that made her soulmate despise her, he was a huge source of comfort. It's no wonder they had been friends for nearly twenty years.

After Kagome finished getting herself ready for the day, she made her way downstairs and found Kouga just finish making a cup of coffee.

"You know, if you really want the extra time, I can just run you there" Kouga offered as he handed her the mug.

Kagome gladly accepted it, "Thanks. And I would, but I don't feel like attracting all that attention. Plus, I think helmet hair would be easier to deal with than whatever my hair would look like after riding on your back."

"I borrowed a car today, so no helmet hair for you" Kouga replied.

"You're the best."

"I know."

Kagome poked her tongue out at him, before drinking her coffee. She didn't have much time, so she tried to drink it as quickly as possible without burning the inside of her mouth. Kouga had gotten himself a glass of water, and was currently cleaning the glass as she tried to finish her drink. Just as she had finished, she received a call from Sango. Concerned, Kagome answered it immediately, putting it on speaker just incase.

_"Kagome, you won't believe who I just met!"_

"Anyone I know?" Kagome asked, confused at the anger that laced Sango's tone.

_"My fucking soulmate"_ Sango snapped, and Kagome sighed knowing exactly where this was going based on the... intimate... placement of Sango's soulmate mark, _"And he's an even bigger pervert than I thought!"_

* * *

**A/N: I have no excuses for myself on starting this fic. **

**I will be getting around to _Twice the Trouble, Twice the Fun_. I just also have to write up he next chapter of _Resurrected_ first, but that's it. I promise I'm getting to that story. Until then, enjoy the soulmate inukag feels. This is going to be fun. **


	2. Chapter 2

The café that Inuyasha had been sent too wasn't as bad as he had been expecting. It wasn't too crowded, so he didn't have to deal with the obnoxious noise that incited hatred, like with most public spaces. The scents didn't burn his nose too badly, and the flora decorating the outside was a pleasant touch that made the area a bit more bearable. Inuyasha knew that this was a place he needed to take his niece to as soon as possible. It almost made his adventure worth it.

"I can't believe I'm doing this" Inuyasha sighed.

_"You're doing this because you're an amazing friend and I am a very desperate man with no other options."_

It was hard to forget the real reason why he was sent here, especially with Miroku's constant harassment. Something had happened, and since Miroku had a prior engagement he couldn't abandon, Inuyasha had been called in for support. Since his friend had sounded urgent when he picked up the phone, Inuyasha had raced to do what needed to be done.

At least, until he managed to work out what was really going on.

Inuyasha rolled his eyes, "Shut up, or I'm just going to walk away, and you can forget ever getting anywhere with your soulmate."

Oh. Yeah. Mr. I-can-talk-my-way-out-of-anything managed to fuck things up with his soulmate and needed help to get himself out of trouble. Inuyasha might not have been able to judge, since he had spent years trying to find anyone who even closely resembled the girl he had left behind in his panic and hadn't been able to mend things then. He had a constant reminder on his arm of the pain he caused her. At least Miroku was doing something.

Still, this was one of the few things Inuyasha could hold over Miroku's head. So yeah, Inuyasha might be a bit of a dick about it. But if Miroku's going to be a dick, then he kind of deserves it. His soulmate is probably pissed because he was flirting with girls right in front of her, just before they discovered their connection. He could see Miroku doing something that stupid, and then try to fix it with some flirty comment that totally ruined the mood and her opinion of him.

_"I'll pay for everything you buy. Hand me the receipt and I'll pay you back. Promise."_

"I never expected you to be this desperate for your soulmate. If you're willing to do this much for her, I can't imagine how you managed to piss her off" Inuyasha commented.

_"Well… you remember how you made jokes about how I'd meet my soulmate?"_

Inuyasha paused for a moment in disbelief, "You have got to be kidding me."

The relationship between the two of them had gone way back, and Inuyasha had hoped their friendship had had just as positive of an impact on Miroku as it did on him. But apparently not, since his friend was still maintaining one particularly gross habit of his. Miroku sees an attractive woman. Miroku grabs that attractive woman in a place she doesn't want to be grabbed. It was stupid, impulsive and made Inuyasha want to punch him in the face. But it had seemed like he had dropped that habit during high school, so Inuyasha hadn't brought it up recently.

_"She is the most gorgeous person in the world… and her ass is proof that divinity is real."_

"Fucking hell Miroku, how the fuck do you expect me to fix this?! You slapped your soulmate's ass, and you think a stranger telling her that you really are a nice guy is going to fix that?" Inuyasha ran a hand through his bangs, "I can't believe I'm friends with you."

And now, Inuyasha had some unwanted attention. The feeling of being watched started the second he mentioned Miroku's bad habit, and Inuyasha found the culprit instantly. A wolf youkai looked at him, while talking low to a woman standing beside him. They were clearly talking about him, based on the body language and gestures. He couldn't be mad at them for overhearing, he knew how hard it was as a hanyou to avoid overhearing things, and full-blooded wolf youkai would have worse experiences with that. He could, however, be pissed that they were obviously gossiping about him.

_"I'll buy you as much ramen as you want. For a month."_

"Deal" Just like that, all of Inuyasha's problems went away, "Now tell me how to recognize this soulmate of yours."

_"I didn't manage to catch her name, but she was wearing a cute, pink kimono jacket. Completely see through, so it hid nothing. A black tank top, and I didn't get a good enough look, but I'd say she's at least a C in cup size. Oh, and her jeans were so tight you could bounce a—"_

Inuyasha bit back a growl, "Fucking lecher. Slapped her ass, and you know her cup size but not her name? No wonder she hates you."

Miroku didn't have time to answer because, while they were talking, a certain young woman had started walking up to Inuyasha. The same woman who had accompanied the wolf. She had some idea of what he was talking about, and definitely had things to say about it. As soon as she was close enough, Inuyasha snapped.

"What?!"

The girl grimaced, "Sorry. My friend couldn't help overhearing, and I'd feel bad if I didn't say anything… You wouldn't happen to be talking to someone named Miroku, would you?"

No way.

No. Nope. No fucking way.

This girl couldn't be Miroku's soulmate. For starters, she wore nothing similar to what Miroku had described. She wore a flowy green dress that reminded Inuyasha of a forest, and gloves that should have been a huge deal for Miroku to mention. Gloves were usually worn for privacy, to hide what your soulmate is feeling from people who don't need to know. If the girl was Miroku's soulmate, she wouldn't need gloves.

Alright, definitely not Miroku's soulmate. Probably just a poor victim of his lecherous behavior.

_"Yash? What's going on?"_

"Hold on a sec" Inuyasha replied before turning his attention back to the girl, "Whatever he did, I'll have him apologize to you later."

"Oh, it's nothing like that! It's just that my friend's soulmate is her classmate, Miroku… and hearing certain things from her conversation… I think you might be talking about Sango" the girl blushed.

That made sense, it a weird way. Of course she'd be able to figure out who she was talking to, since her friend would have let her know where her mark was. It's not like having a handprint on your ass is a common place for a soulmate mark to be. A lot of people have it on their hands, usually because they either brush their soulmates hand, or grab their soulmate somewhere.

Either way, it seemed Miroku lucked out. Inuyasha finding his soulmate's friend, meant that he had a connection. And it seemed like she wasn't going to try and push away any contact between Miroku and her friend. The odds were a bit more in his favor at least.

Inuyasha brought his phone back, "Sango. Her name is Sango. Try not to forget it."

_"Wait, Inuya—"_

And now Miroku could suffer for little bit with no one to keep him updated.

Well, that left two young adults standing awkwardly, uncertain how to continue the conversation on a very strange topic. What was there to say? 'Sorry my friend groped your friend and became soulmates'? Yeah, he didn't think that would make a promising conversation starter. What do people even say in a situation like this? This sounds like one of the romantic comedies that a mass produced with very generic plots.

"I'm Kagome, by the way" the girl said, breaking the silence, "Kagome Higurashi."

Names. Names were a great place to start, since the entire shitshow that was his love life probably wouldn't nearly be as bad as it is if he had just gotten his soulmate's name. Would have made the list of possible soulmates a lot shorter than every human female his age.

"Inuyasha Nakanishi" he replied.

"I swear I don't encourage eavesdropping, but when Kouga heard you talk about your friend's… uh… moment, I knew it couldn't be a coincidence" Kagome explained.

Inuyasha chuckled at that, "Yeah, the guy practically begged me to help smooth things over. He found out her plans from one of his classmates and set me on the trail."

"You sound like a very kind friend, Inuyasha" Kagome said.

If only she knew that he wasn't doing this out of the kindness of his heart. Not that he really would have walked away if Miroku hadn't offered him ramen. Miroku probably knew that as well. But still, he would acknowledge he was dick. Just not to this cute young woman who was way more polite then she needed to be to a hanyou. Which was worrying when he thought about it, since her scent had his youkai blood practically purring and he had even started listing the shades of brown in her eyes. What was wrong with him?

"Our friendship is more of a hostage situation. I can't escape him no matter how hard I try, and I don't have many other options so…" Inuyasha joked.

Kagome giggled at that, "Well, you might find yourself with a few more friends at the end of the day."

"That so?"

"Well, if we're going to be playing mediators between our two troubled friends, I think we should at least get along. It would make our live much easier" Kagome answered.

Another laugh was pulled from him, "First time I've been the mediator instead of the mediated. Miroku's usually the one playing diplomat to keep me out of trouble."

Kagome laughed at that, and Inuyasha had to push down the weird sense of pride he felt in that moment. Obviously, the constant talk of soulmates and love had caused some miscommunication within himself. This wasn't the first time his youkai blood pulled him to a woman, but it had never been this strong before. Though, last time the woman he'd been interested in had been hiding the fact her soulmate was a girl from her very strict parents. A cute couple actually; Inuyasha hoped they were doing well.

"You're going to adore Sango then" Kagome stated, "You two sound like you have a lot in common."

"Anyone who doesn't put up with Miroku's shit already has high respect from me" Inuyasha scoffed at the thought of Miroku's antics, "He thinks he can talk his way out of everything. It's good for him to find out he can't."

"You don't have too high of an opinion on your friend" Kagome commented.

Inuyasha shrugged, "Hey, I'm honest. I ain't going to lie to a poor girl who's gonna be stuck with him for the rest of her life. That would be cruel."

"Are this protective of every girl, or is my friend just the exception?" Kagome asked.

Inuyasha couldn't help but notice how at ease he felt in this conversation. From anxious to, what Inuyasha was certain sounded like friendly teasing. This was something he could get used to. Which meant that he had to try and get Miroku's soulmate to forgive him if he wanted to see her again.

"What can I say, I was a hero in a past life. Rescuing and protecting those in need is just in my soul" Inuyasha winked.

"I hope your soulmate isn't too jealous" Kagome teased.

That sobered Inuyasha's current thoughts right up. Jealous? He'd be lucky if his soulmate didn't despise him. He was the scumbag who abandoned her, and now here he is thinking about spending time with another woman. What if she was looking at her hand right now, watching Inuyasha's feelings play out in front of her, knowing what he was thinking? He'd be the monster that left her nothing, just ditched her for any woman he felt attached to.

He had to ignore the insistence of his youkai blood. He was alone, but that wouldn't justify his actions. It wasn't like he was dating before he found his soulmate. He was cheating on her. It didn't matter if they might never see each other again, he could at least give her his loyalty.

"I'm so sorry, I should have pried like that" Kagome started.

Inuyasha waved her off, "It's fine."

"No, I shouldn't have said anything. That was rude and I—"

"Kagome" Inuyasha interrupted, "It's fine. Things just happen. Let's leave it at that."

"I know that feeling" Kagome sighed.

That sounded almost heartbroken. When Inuyasha looked at her, he noticed the way she held herself as she stared at the ground, unable to look him in the eyes. Her bangs fell over her eyes, and he wanted to push them back at that moment. This wasn't just someone who felt guilty they crossed a line or understood that something really sucked. This was something more.

Inuyasha remembered a small detail though, "So your friend over there… He was just a friend?"

"Yeah. He… I… we're best friends, never been more than that" Kagome said, "I used to think about when I was younger. That maybe I could be with him. But I realized that I was just scared of being alone, and that it wasn't fair to put either of us in that situation just because we understood each other's loss."

That made Inuyasha feel like shit for assuming they may have been together. So, they were childhood friends who got fucked over and lost their soulmates. Fucking hell, Inuyasha really deserved to rot in hell for even thinking of making a move on this poor girl. She probably wouldn't want to be with him anyway, especially if she found out exactly how shitty of a soulmate he was.

With that mess leaving the conversation bitter, the two of them decided to head inside, before changing the topic of conversation to much safer things. Inuyasha learned that Kagome was a registered reiki user, and technically a miko, especially since she was raised on shrine grounds. Though she apparently had been encouraged by many professionals to pursue a career that required reiki because of her advanced talents in it, Kagome wasn't sure what she wanted to do. She trained to make sure she wouldn't lose control of her abilities, but she studied in different fields. She mostly only took the reiki courses only because she'd be able to take all her courses for free.

Inuyasha talked about his life, his father's business and how he wasn't sure what to make of himself just yet. But he owned a dojo, and he trained many people to defended themselves; human, hanyou or youkai. He had paid back his parents for the money they had given him to start that project. It had taken a lot of time, but he was proud of it. He talked a bit about his brother's whole fashion line, and how he has his wife and daughter model for him sometimes. The whole time Kagome seemed interested, and even excited. Conversation was comfortable once again.

"Oh, there's Sango now" Kagome pointed.

The girl that approached fit Miroku's description perfectly. But even without that knowledge, Inuyasha would have known it was her. She fit Miroku's dream girl perfectly. She packed a bit of muscle on her — not body-builder muscle, but enough muscle that should could probably toss him out of the café with little difficulty. Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail, only completing the athletic vibe and Inuyasha knew that there was no way his friend would have been able to resist this woman even if he wanted to.

"Kagome" Sango greeted before she glanced over at Inuyasha, "Who's your friend?"

"I'm sorry" Inuyasha started.

Yeah, he needed to start with an apology if he was going to get anywhere. At the very least, it should stop her from throwing him through the window. He was Miroku's friend, and he promised he would talk to her, but he wasn't going to risk his head to do it. He wasn't a huge masochist like the pervert.

Sango looked concerned, "Kagome?"

"This is Inuyasha. He's my friend… and he also happens to be a friend of Miroku's" Kagome answered.

There was a long pause as Sango eyed him. Kagome kept trying to send him reassuring looks, but it wasn't working when he was being glared down by an angry woman. Sango obviously didn't find this situation as complicated as they did, it was clear that she had already made her mind on what was going to happen between her and Miroku. Nothing. Not if she could help it.

Inuyasha almost let out a sigh of relief when her glare softened.

"Alright, you can stay" Sango finally sat down.

"Look, Sango, I know how you're feeling right now. But you should at least give Miroku a chance. Fighting against destiny won't make you happy" Kagome said.

"I see" Sango's tone was enough to force Inuyasha resist the urge to hide behind Kagome, "Did he ask you to grovel for him?"

"He just sent me to talk. He didn't give me any instructions on what to say or anything. I just got to talk" Inuyasha said.

"Destiny has a fucked-up sense of humor" Sango replied, "And I don't owe him anything after what he's put me through."

"I have a feeling this isn't just about this morning" Inuyasha commented.

Sango glared at him, "For my entire life, I've had people judge me based on where my soulmate mark. No one thought to question his character. But everyone decided to question mine. I have had to work hard my entire life to prove myself, and each time I'm told it's just a waste since they knew where I'd end up. And ironically, if I had become what everyone had expected, I wouldn't have met my soulmate."

Well fuck, if he didn't relate to that feeling. He'd spent way too much of his life being judged by what he was rather than who he was, and he had gotten sick of it. Constantly having to be extra careful of everything he did to make sure he didn't prove bigoted asshole right. He couldn't imagine being in a situation where he was judged based on another person's actions towards him. What kind of harassment had Sango received, just because his friend was an idiot who made a stupid decision? How long would it have gone on for?

Miroku had messed up in more ways than he had realized. But Inuyasha also knew Miroku, and he knew exactly how he'd feel about this. This wasn't something he ever would have wanted to happen to anyone.

"I'm sorry he put you through that" Inuyasha began, "Miroku has issues. That doesn't make what happened okay, and I won't try to defend it. But I wouldn't be friends with him if that's all there was too him. I'm not saying you need to forgive him straight away. Have him bend over backwards to gain your forgiveness if needed. But at the end of the day, Miroku is one of the most dependable people I know."

"Anything else you want to add?" Sango asked.

Inuyasha could tell she wasn't impressed, "People make stupid mistakes for stupid reasons. And then they regret them for the rest of their lives. I just think you should give him a chance. If after a while you decide that you still can't stand him, then fine. But at least you'll have done so with a clear head rather than out of anger or fear."

"I agree with Inuyasha" Kagome said, "If you're uncomfortable about being alone with him, I'll always bet there to support you. I'm sure Inuyasha will too. But you should give him a chance."

"Fine. But if he makes one mistake, I'm ending it" Sango stated.


End file.
